For dinner last night I cooked one of the roasting chickens we buy from a nearby local farmer. I like to cook chicken in my Romertopf clay pot. There is no need to add liquids to the pot, but you do immerse the clay pot in cold water to absorb as much water as possible. The bird comes out moist and tender, almost falls off the bone.
I seasoned the chicken with a combination of butter and the seasoning mix below. I left the butter out a while to be able to cream with a fork and then added some of the seasoning mix to taste. Rub it all over the inside and outside the skin and also inside the cavity. I filled the cavity with a quartered onion and button mushrooms.
I added quartered potatoes, and onions; also added buttom mushrooms cut in half and arranged everything all around the chicken.
Turn oven to 350 F or 375 F and cook, covered, for at least an hour and half; depending on size of bird. This one took almost 2 hours, but it was a bit larger than most roasters.
I also served sautéed baby spinach with the chicken and potatoes.
I always pour the liquid and fat rendered in the pot after the chicken is cooked into a larger pot, add more water and also the bits of skin and bones after taking the bird appart and cook it down to make chicken stock. When done to my taste, I let it cool, then store in half gallon Mason jars in refrigerator. The next day, I skim the solidified fat and save it in a smaller jar. This fat is excellent for sautéing vegetables.
The chicken stock can then be frozen in freezer bags in whatever portions is convenient for you.
Seasoned Salt
Hawaiian Sea Salt
Smoked Paprika
Minced & Dried Garlic
Ground Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
To each cup of sea salt, I added 5 heaping tablespoons of each of the other ingredients and mixed well. Place in bottles and seal.
To grind the dried shiitake mushrooms, I drop them into the food processor, one at a time while the motor is running - if you put them all in the container and then turn the machine on, they don't do as well. Some pieces will never grind to a fine powder, but those I just sifted out and used them to make cream of mushroom soup.
I made some of this seasoning mix for "Gifts from my Kitchen".
Use as is on poultry, pork or steaks. Wonderful over hot potato fries. Or make a paste with room temperature butter, spread over chicken, turkey, steaks or ribs before cooking, baking or grilling.
